Incinerator



April 28, 1970 M. s. GATEWOOD 3,503,505

INCINERATOR Filed Nov. 18, 1968 INVENT OR FIG 2 MORRIS S. GATEWOOD ATTORNEYE United States Patent Ofice Patented Apr. 28, 1970 3,508,505 INCINERATOR Morris S. Gatewood, Troup, Tex. (P.O. Box 365, Whitehouse, Tex. 75791) Filed Nov. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 776,425

Int. Cl. F23g 5/08 U.S. Cl. 110-8 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An incinerator is disclosed, which causes a flame to impinge upon a charge and thereby consume the charge by a primary combustion. The flue products of the primary combustion are caused to circulate and pass in contact with the flame, effecting a secondary combustion and thereby reducing the smoke, fumes and odors in the eiflnent of the incinerator.

The present invention relates to incinerators, and particularly to incinerators of the type used to dispose of animal carcasses, and sometimes referred to as cremators. One particular area of use for this type of incinerator is for the destruction of poultry. However, it is understood that although the specific illustrative form of the invention shown and described herein is designed for that purpose, the principles of the invention are applicable to incinerators designed and adapted for other purposes.

The basic elements of an incinerator comprise a housing forming a combustion chamber, a fuel burner, usually either oil or gas, for directing a flame into the combustion chamber, and a flue stack for creating a draft through the combustion chamber and carrying the products of combustion to the atmosphere. The material to be incinerated is charged into the combustion chamber, the burner flame is directed onto the charge, and the resultant products of combustion pass up the flue stack.

One of the serious problems with incinerator operation is that the combustion of the charge is not entirely complete, and the combustion products that pass up the flue stack and into the atmosphere contain dense smoke and unpleasant fumes and odors. These combustion products are particularly unpleasant when the incinerator is used as a cremator to dispose of animal carcasses, such as poultry and the like. A prevalent remedy for this problem is to equip the incinerator with a second or auxiliary burner often located either at the base of the flue stack or in a secondary combustion area closely related to the stack. The auxiliary burner can be effective in consuming the products of the original or primary combustion of the charge, thereby substantially reducing the offensiveness of the effluent from the flue stack; however, the presence of a second burner adds materially to the cost of the incinerator and to the cost of operation.

In accordance with the present invention, the need for a second or auxiliary burner is eliminated, by arranging the combustion chamber, burner, and flue stack in such a manner that the original products of combustion are caused to circulate and then pass around the burner flame and be consumed before reaching the flue stack. In this Way the single or main burner is caused to perform the function of two burners, thereby not only eliminating the cost of an auxiliary burner, but also making more efi'icient use of the main burner.

It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide an incinerator that will effectively and efiiciently consume the charge, and provide for secondary combustion of the fumes and smoke of the primary combustion.

And an additional object of the present invention is to provide such an incinerator wherein both the primary and secondary combustion are accomplished with a single burner.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description of one illustrative embodiment of the invention, had in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like or corresponding parts, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an incinerator embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the incinerator of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the incinerator taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 designates the incinerator housing, and it is supported by end stands 11 and braces 11a. A conventional incinerator burner 12, oil or gas type, is mounted upon one end wall of the incinerator housing 10, and beneath the burner is an adjustable draft air inlet 13. Projecting from the top of the housing 10 adjacent the burner end of the housing, and located immediately over the burner flame base area is a flue stack 14, desirably having a spark screen 15 at the top. A charging door 16 is located approximately midway between the ends of the housing 10, and in the upper portion thereof; and a clean out door 17 is located in the end of the housing opposite the burner end.

Internally, the housing 10 is provided wtih a refractory lining 18, defining a combustion chamber 19. A shelf 20 is located approximately one-third of the distance up from the bottom of the combustion chamber. This shelf extends completely across the width of the combustion chamber, but its ends are spaced from the end walls of the combustion chamber 19.

In operation, a charge to be incinerated is introduced into the combustion chamber through the charge door 16, and distributed appropriately on the shelf 20. The burner 12 is mounted so that its flame nozzle 12a projects the flame 21 to pass closely adjacent the base 14a of the stack 14 and directionally over the charge distributed on the shelf 20. The directional draft of the flame forces the products of the primary combustion to travel around the end 22 of the shelf, back under the shelf, then up around the end 23 of shelf 20 and out the flue stack 14, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2. When moving up past the end 23 of shelf 20 toward the stack, the primary combustion products are caused to pass around the base portion of the burner flame 21, and there they are subject to a secondary combustion. When incineration is completed, the burner flame is extinguished and residual ash is removable through the clean out door 17.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the present incinerator provides a primary combustion of the charge, and with only a primary burner, effects a secondary combustion of the flue products of the primary combustion. It is understood that the specific embodiment is only intended to be illustrative of the invention, and numerous variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such variations and modifications as are embraced by the spirit and scope of the appended claims are contemplated as being Within the purview of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. .An incinerator comprising means defining a combustion chamber, shelf means located in a central portion of said chamber for supporting a charge of material to be incinerated, fuel burner means having a flame nozzle mounted in a wall of said chamber and positioned to direct a flame against and directionally across said shelf means and thereby incinerate a charge placed on said shelf means, flue means projecting from said combustion chamber and having a base located above and closely adjacent to said flame nozzle so that said flame is caused to pass under said base, said incinerator including means for directing the products of combustion to an area under said flame nozzle whereby said products are subjected to a secondary combustion before reaching said flue.

2. An incinerator having a combustion chamber defined by a substantially horizontal shelf for supporting a charge to be incinerated and a housing thereover, burner means positioned to direct a flame across said shelf from one end thereof toward the opposite and thereby drive the products of combustion of said charge to the locale of said opposite end, means for directing the products of combustion of said charge from the locale of said opposite end to the locale of said one end below said shelf, and flue means located above said shelf at the locale of said one end thereof, whereby said products of combustion are subjected to a secondary combustion by said flame in passing from the locale of said one end below said shelf to said flue.

3. An incinerator comprising a housing defining an 4 t enclosed combustion chamber having two opposite ends, shelf means dividing said chamber into an upper and a lower section and completely separating said sections except for areas adjacent said two ends, flue means extending from said upper section from a point above one of said areas, fuel burner means mounted in a wall of said housing at one of said ends and positioned to project a flame over said one area and under said flue means toward the other of said ends, whereby said flame will incinerate a charge positioned on said shelf and drive the products of combustion through the other of said areas, under the shelf means, through said one area and past said flame to said flue, to subject said products of combustion to a secondary combustion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,994,367 8/1961 Sherman 110-18 XR 3,307,507 3/1967 Boyd et a1. 1l08 XR KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner 

